


best man

by namananas



Category: K-pop, Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Angst, BUT THEY’RE STRICTLY PLATONIC, Best Friends, M/M, Non Idol AU, Slow Burn, Unrequited Love, eventual fluff? idk lol, lowercase intended, minho & hyunjin & changbin r like the three musketeers, minho cries like a lot, past changlix, rated teen bc drinking & cursing yk, the rest are only mentioned as of rn, they're like in their twenties
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-21
Updated: 2019-04-20
Packaged: 2019-10-14 05:43:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17502698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/namananas/pseuds/namananas
Summary: he knew that this was for the best. jisung and felix deserved to be happy.lee minho knew he was deserving of things, too. han jisung just was not one of those things.alternatively ;jisung asks minho to be his best man.





	1. i.

minho was falling.

not in the cutesy way. he wasn’t tripping over things and falling to the ground, only to have some nice gentleman help him up.

not in a good way, either. he wasn’t falling in love. he wasn’t falling in love, because he had already fallen in love a long time ago.

lee minho was in love with his best friend. which, normally, would not be a problem at all. everyone’s seen the movies or read the books in which the best friends eventually realize their feelings for each other and become lovers. maybe that’s what minho had secretly been hoping for all of these years.

hoping that han jisung would love him in the same way that he did. hoping that he made jisung’s heart race just as fast as he made his own heart race. hoping that jisung stared at his lips and wondered what it would feel like to kiss him. he used to wonder if jisung laid awake at night because his thoughts of him were too strong.

all minho wanted was for jisung to feel the same way as he did. and for a while, he thought he did.

they would always flirt with each other, even going as far to jokingly lean in for a kiss before the other pulled away. their phones were constantly blowing up with notifications just from the other. whether it was messages asking if they ate, or if it was some dumb meme, or it was some lyrics jisung hoped to get approval of, their names were constantly on the other’s phone screen. plus, they enjoyed skinship way too much for there not to be romantic feelings.

evidently, minho read all the signs incorrectly.

because han jisung was currently engaged.

minho wasn’t sure which would have been worse. jisung marrying a guy he wasn’t familiar with, or jisung marrying a guy who minho knew very well.

oh yeah. did he mention that he was the one who introduced them to each other?

jisung was engaged to lee felix, who happened to be another one of minho’s good friends. they were apart of the same dance troupe, and minho had a bit of a soft spot for him.

so what was he supposed to say when the younger came up to him after practice with excitement in his eyes, telling him his plan to propose jisung? was he supposed to be selfish and say that he didn’t think it was a good idea?

felix and jisung had only been dating for six months before he proposed. minho thought it was too soon. felix tended to get carried away with his emotions too quickly, yet he still wasn’t expecting it to be this soon.

he also wasn’t expecting jisung to say yes. then again, felix made jisung happy. that much was obvious. jisung was always a happy boy, but it seemed as if the freckled boy brought it out even more.

which hurt so, so bad.

god, he could still remember the heartbreak he felt when jisung had told him he had just gotten asked out by felix. he could still remember how he had to hold back his tears and fake a smile, fake his happiness for his best friend.

* * *

“hyung!” jisung had called, running into the older boy's bedroom.

minho looked up from his laptop, the video he was invested in moments ago completely out of his mind. “hmm?” he made a noise, directing jisung to continue.

jisung hopped onto minho’s bed, causing him to put his laptop on his nightstand. “guess what?” as minho opened his mouth to say how much he hated guessing, jisung continued. “wait, never mind. you hate guessing,” he playfully rolled his eyes.

a small smile graced the older boy's lips, barely shrugging his shoulder. jisung knew him well, and minho hated how much that made his heart grow fonder for him. god, they were best friends! he was supposed to know him well.

“felix finally asked me out, hyung! i need to decide on what to wear,” jisung had pretty much squealed, and that was all it took for minho to come crashing down.

he blinked once. then again. then a third time. he was taking a bit to process this information. what was he supposed to say?

he settled for, “you and felix? when did that happen?” he hoped he didn’t sound as pathetic as he felt.

jisung giggled before smiling at him, and minho had to bring himself to look away. he stared at the blank wall straight ahead, because he knew that if he looked at the younger for too long, the tears would make its return.

“well, to be fair, i did always think he was cute. and he’s funny, too. when he asked me if i wanted to go out for dinner tonight, i couldn’t refuse,” jisung explained, stretching himself out even more on the other's bed.

all minho could do was slowly nod his head. felix was interested in jisung. romantically, it appears. which immediately rubbed him the wrong way, because he could have sworn that felix was in love with their friend, seo changbin. he’d have to have a talk with him later.

“okay,” he breathed out. “let’s go find you an outfit.” the smile on his face was one of the fakest he had ever used, but if jisung noticed, he didn’t say anything.

* * *

as soon as the clock struck eight fifteen p.m., there was a knock at the door. 

minho looked at jisung’s outfit, biting his lip gently. he looked good, even if he was just in a simple dress shirt with some ripped jeans. jisung’s style was simple, which was arguably one of minho’s favorite things about him. “you look great, sungie. have fun tonight, okay? don’t stay out too late,” he joked, but there was no humor in his voice. jisung still laughed.

“thanks, mom,” he joked back before he pulled the older into a tight hug. minho stood still for a second before he slowly wrapped his arms back around him.

minho hoped that the younger couldn’t hear how fast his heartbeat was over a simple hug.

“what are you going to do tonight when i’m gone? i know that fridays are normally our movie nights…” jisung trailed off, guilt evident in his voice.

the brunet didn’t know if he could feel worse tonight until he heard the guilt in his voice. that made him want to curl up into a ball and never come out. he faked a smile. “i’m sure i’ll find something to do. now, go. lix is waiting for you.”

with one final squeeze to the other’s torso, jisung let go before practically running towards the door. “bye, hyung!” he called out before the door slammed shut.

“bye, sungie,” minho’s voice came out tiny, and he hated how pathetic it sounded.

thirty minutes after jisung had left, minho found himself standing outside of seo changbin’s apartment.

minho had known changbin since high school. he looked like the angsty emo teen who kept to himself, but once minho got to know him, it was clear that none of those assumptions were true. 

changbin just liked to act tough. he was far from it.

looking under changbin’s doormat, minho didn’t bother to knock on the door. he knew changbin probably had some headphones on and wouldn’t even head the knock anyways. he opted to pick up the key from under the mat and let himself in.

he’d have to remind changbin later to change that. anyone could break in easily if they really wanted to.

he rolled his eyes once he unlocked the door. what a surprise. changbin wasn’t even aware of his arrival yet. he was too invested with something on his laptop screen, enormous headphones on his head.

minho really needed to have a conversation with this kid about safety.

even when he creeped over to him, changbin still didn’t hear his steps. minho placed a hand on his shoulder, causing the younger to shriek and practically fling his headphones off his head. minho couldn’t help but laugh.

“what the fuck!” changbin glared at him, before realizing what he should have said. “hold up, how the hell did you get in here?” 

minho revealed the apartment key, shaking it in his face to provoke him. “you should really find a better hiding spot for your key.” he fell back onto his couch.

“gee, thanks for the advice. i am so sorry that i didn’t expect my psycho of a friend would let themselves in without even shooting me a warning text,” sarcasm was dripping in changbin’s voice, but minho waved him off. he knew he didn’t mean anything bad by it.

changbin closed his laptop, placing it on his messy coffee table before joining minho on the couch. “what are you even doing here anyways?” he immediately felt bad for asking once he saw how the older boy's smile dropped off his face.

“i thought felix was, like, in love with you or something. why is he suddenly asking jisung out?” minho asked, choosing to pick at the loose thread on the couch rather than look at the younger.

he arched an eyebrow in response. “huh? felix isn’t in love with me,” changbin answered the first question easily. as for the second, he tilted his head to the right before asking a question of his own, “why do you care about him asking jisung out anyways?”

minho said nothing about the hidden meaning behind changbin’s words. he knew very well what he was trying to say. 

changbin had always believed that jisung and minho would end up together. he was constantly teasing them. yeah, it got annoying sometimes, but his constant teasing had put minho at ease. because deep in his mind, minho thought that maybe changbin was right.

“stop. i’m just asking because i don’t want jisung to get hurt or anything, that’s all.” minho mumbled, knowing that if he had heard himself right now, he wouldn’t believe that statement either.

it seemed as if changbin wasn’t falling for it, either. he scoffed, “hurt? come on, min. you know felix. he wouldn’t do anything to purposely hurt anyone. you just sound jealous.” 

well, duh. that’s exactly why he drove about twenty minutes to changbin’s apartment to ask about felix. he was clearly jealous. it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that much out. however, there was absolutely no way that he’d openly admit that.

“i am not jealous!” minho’s voice had raised slightly. “i am looking out for my best friend. felix has been in love with you since high school, why is he suddenly asking jisung out instead of you?” he lowered his voice once more as he repeated his question from earlier.

changbin’s cheeks had flushed. “clearly, he’s not in love with me. it was just a stupid joke. kind of like how you insist you and jisung’s constant flirting is a joke,” he hurriedly deflected the topic back to his hyung. “minho, it’s okay to be upset. you can talk to me.”

minho wasn’t one to let his emotions get the better of him. he often kept them locked up, away from bitter reality. yet when he heard those last five words leave his friend’s mouth, the tears came rushing back. he was finally breaking. after all these years of bottling up his feelings for jisung, he was exploding.

he instantly hid his face in his palms, quiet sobs raking throughout his entire body. changbin took this as a sign to wrap an arm around the older. normally, minho would have shoved him off of him. but his mere presence alone somehow made him feel a bit better.

he was stupid! so, so stupid. how could he ever believe he had a chance with a boy like that? someone who was so filled with light and happiness. minho barely deserved his friendship, how could he possibly think he deserved his love as well?

“it’s okay, hyung. i’m here.”

* * *

so, yeah. minho was falling. he was falling from his dumb hopes and wishes. he knew he was stupid for allowing himself to get too close to him. it’s his own fault that he’ll be alone.

alone, in the same damn apartment he shared with his best friend. spending his nights with nothing on his mind besides him was a common occurrence.

he knew that this was for the best. jisung and felix deserved to be happy.

lee minho knew he was deserving of things, too. han jisung just was not one of those things.


	2. ii.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi i’m back hehe. i apologize for this chapter taking so long, i hit a really bad writer’s block but it’s finally gone!! i hope you like this chapter even if it is dialogue heavy. this was beta-read by bro kev by the way <33

six months have passed since felix and jisung had started dating.

six terrible, emotional months have passed.

at least, they were terrible, emotional months for minho. he couldn’t say they were the same for jisung.

everyone always talks about how amazing it is to be in love with your best friend. being in love with your best friend is simple, pretty much perfect. they just _get_ you, on a way nobody else does. there’s hardly ever miscommunications.

yeah, well, minho wasn’t a fan of those portrayals. why is it that, in the movies, the two best friends _always_ realize their love for each other and grow old with each other? for once, minho would like to see someone go through the emotional pain he felt, even if it was some actor doing it for the money.

because it _sucks_ knowing that even though you might be in love with your best friend, they definitely do not love you back.

minho had to hear about _everything_. about the first time felix kissed jisung, how good of a kisser felix is, how cool his apartment is, how funny he is, felix this, felix that.

it was pretty annoying. not that hearing jisung ramble was annoying, in fact, minho always found jisung’s rambling endearing. no, it was the rambling about felix that annoyed him.

which, of course, made him feel terrible. he actually liked felix. he was a good person, and was probably one of the most genuine people minho had ever met in all his years.

so he would act like he cared. he’d fake a smile, nod every now and then, and act as if it didn’t hurt like hell whenever jisung brought up the fact that they had already declared their love to one another.

yep, minho was definitely bitter about those best friends to lovers tropes.

* * *

 “i think i’m going to head out for a bit.” minho heard the younger yell from the kitchen.

he rolled his eyes. he didn’t want to be this bitter, honestly, but he just couldn’t help it. “have fun with felix,” minho replied back from their living room. it had been basically six months since jisung and felix had started dating, but minho had still felt numb at any mention of the two.

every time he thought the pain would go away, it’d go back to feeling like a dull stab through his chest.

he stared at the laptop he was currently using. the word document only had six words on it - and they were his name, his professor’s name, and the subject. he hadn’t even thought of a title yet.

oh, whatever. it wasn’t like he had any motivation to write. he didn’t exactly want to write about the trends of dancing over the course of the years. seriously, he was a dance major. why the hell did he even need to write an essay?

he closed the laptop, placing with way too little care on the coffee table. he laid his head back on the old (seriously, this thing looked as if it was older than his parents) sofa and closed his eyes.

“how do i look?” jisung asked as he entered the living room. he did a little twirl as a joke, frowning as he then realized minho hadn’t even opened his eyes yet. “hyung? are you alright?”

minho forced himself to open his eyes, taking in the sight of his best friend. with black jeans and a black button up slightly tucked in, jisung looked nothing short of a daydream. minho had always liked when the younger wore darker clothes. he thought it was a nice contrast to the younger’s bright personality.

he gave a tight lipped smile. “you look nice, sungie.” he already knew what the special occasion was, he asked anyways. “something special or something?” he tried his best to sound as if he didn’t know the exact date they got together.

the smile that jisung gave him in return was enough to pull on his heart. he flopped on the couch next to him, obviously not caring about his shirt getting untucked from his jeans.

“six month anniversary with felix,” the loving tone in his voice made minho want to throw up. “he said he’s taking me somewhere really nice, so i really don’t want to look bad.”

minho arched an eyebrow at this. “then you’d probably want to go tuck your shirt in again,” he teased, lightly tugging on the piece of fabric.

the flustered expression and blush on jisung’s cheeks was cute as he scrambled to get off the couch and to the bathroom. when he heard a knock on the apartment door, jisung gasped loudly. “crap, he’s already here! minho, can you let him in?”

 _no_ , minho thought. _no, i can’t let him in. in fact, maybe i’ll just tell him you aren’t here. you packed your things and moved to malaysia and are never coming back._

ugh, he truly could be a bitter bitch. he should work on that. he dragged his feet across the floor slowly as he made his way to the door, coming face to a well-dressed felix.

“oh, hyung!” felix exclaimed, clearly not expecting minho to open the door. minho faked a smile, waving slightly as a way of greeting.

“he’s almost ready, he just had to fix his shirt,” minho shrugged, as felix nodded his head.

there was silence between them for a moment.  minho could tell that the younger wanted to tell him something, but as soon as he opened his mouth to say something, jisung came stumbling out of the bathroom.

“i’m ready! i’m ready, sorry, lix,” jisung breathed out, sounding out of breath from running across the small apartment. “you look really great tonight,” minho almost gagged as he saw the heart eyes jisung had.

felix opened his mouth before minho cut him off. “yes, you two look lovely. blah blah, you two should probably hurry so you’re not late to wherever it is you’re going,” while bitterness was clear in his voice, he grinned at the both of them.

the grin seemed to convince the both of them that the elder was simply kidding around with them. “you’re probably right, we really should go. bye minho,” felix said after a small laugh, taking a hold of jisung’s hand.

minho fought back an eye roll, keeping the fake grin on his face. “have fun, you two. but not too much fun,” he joked, playfully winking at him.

it wasn’t really that much of a joke, if minho was being honest. after all, there’s some truth to every joke.

* * *

“i really don’t see why you can’t just tell jisung how you feel,” changbin called from the kitchen, bending down to grab two water bottles out of the fridge. he made his way to the living room, tossing a water bottle to minho. he caught it, luckily.

minho started spending a lot of time with changbin, finding it easy to rant to him or something like that. plus, changbin was brutally honest. he never hesitated to tell minho if he was being a little bitch. while minho hates being called out, he did appreciate that changbin did it so easily.

also, he would never openly admit it, but he was pretty fun to hang out with. minho didn’t want to give him an even _bigger_ head.

he opened the water bottle, taking a swig of it before he answered. “you make it sound so simple.” when changbin looked at him judgmentally, indicating that he did, indeed, think it was that simple, he continued. “it’s not like i can just go up to him and go, _hey jisung. i know you’re very happy with this literal ray of sunshine that is lee felix, but i have something to tell you. i’ve been in love with you since the day we first met, but i was too much of a coward to admit it before you started spending all your time with someone else. so, i guess what i’m saying is, break up with your boyfriend and date me instead!_ ” the sarcasm was practically dripping in his voice.

changbin shrugged. “hey, it worked for ariana grande,” he had a smirk on his face, thinking his joke was pretty funny. it was met with a glare. “get it? because of that one song,” he started to explain, as if minho didn’t get it.

“i am no ariana grande, changbin!” minho huffed, slamming his water bottle onto the coffee table. “also, i think you’re missing the point here. she wanted him to break up with his girlfriend because she wanted the _girlfriend_ ...or something like that. not because she’s in love with the _guy_!”

the shorter male’s eyes widened at minho’s words. “wait, really? damn, i never got a chance to watch the video. wow, this whole time i thought she was just a homewrecker.”

“i mean, in a way, i suppose she can be considered one. she is technically still trying to break them up. and didn’t she break up big sean and jhene aiko that one time?” minho began to gossip, he was very updated on celebrity news. he had already opened his laptop, hurriedly going onto youtube to show his friend ariana grande’s newest music video. before he could pull it up, he was interrupted by a knocking on the door.

changbin looked at minho, then the door. “i’m not getting that. this isn’t my apartment,” he said as if he read minho’s mind that was about to ask him to open the door.

minho rolled his eyes. he loved his friend, but he could be so annoying sometimes. he shot him a glare before getting up from his seat on the couch, making his way to the door. “huh? hyunjin?” he asked, tilting his head like a confused puppy as he  took in the sudden appearance of his panicked, pizza carrying friend.

“hi, minho. hi, binnie,” hyunjin waved to changbin, seeing him slightly from behind minho. “i brought the pizza like you asked.”

minho spun around quickly, narrowing his eyes at changbin, then the pizza box, then back at changbin. “can you excuse me for a moment, jinnie, please?” minho asked sweetly, closing the door once hyunjin nodded with a smile.

he turned around and glared at changbin, who seemed to have gotten onto minho’s laptop and was watching the video. minho heard the song playing quietly. he crossed his arms against his chest. “seriously? you won’t get the door because it isn’t your apartment, yet you’ll have hyunjin run over here with food?”

changbin tore his eyes away from the video to meet his eyes. “that’s different.”

“oh, really? how is it different?”

he was quiet for a moment. changbin grunted, “ok, i can’t think about how it’s different right this moment. let me sleep on it,” he continued, “besides, this isn’t my fault. he texted me asking where you were, and who was i to not tell him? maybe if you texted him back this wouldn’t have happened.”

minho grabbed his phone off the coffee table, opening his mouth to defend himself about receiving no messages from the younger boy. he cringed, though, seeing three missed calls and ten messages from him. crap, he didn’t even notice his phone was on do not disturb. “okay, i guess that kind of is my fault. but i still don’t see why you had to have him buy you pizza.”

“i’m hungry, minho. you really want your friend to starve to death? you never have any food in this apartment,” he defended himself.

the older male scoffed, quickly reading the messages that were hyunjin asking about the dance essay they had to write. oh crap. minho should probably get started on that too.

another knock was heard. “uh, you guys know i’m still out here, right?”

this time, it was changbin who scrambled to open the door for the younger. he took the pizza box out of his hands, moving everything on the coffee table to the floor to make room for the large pizza box. opening it, the frown was clear on his face. “just cheese? jinnie, i said to get the usual,” changbin complained, although he still grabbed a piece out of the box.

hyunjin pouted, following his actions and grabbing piece as well. “how was i supposed to know what the usual is? i’m never the one who orders the pizza.”

“okay, whatever, it doesn’t matter. what matters is that hyunjinnie was thoughtful enough to come without his hands swinging,” minho shot a glare at changbin, who just frowned.

“hey, i buy you things,” he defended, earning a laugh from the elder as minho leaned over to ruffle his hair.

* * *

in half an hour, the large pizza was almost done completely. minho didn’t even know how hungry he was until hyunjin offered him a piece. changbin took up the couch, while minho and hyunjin were on the floor.

“so,” hyunjin began. “i take it you haven’t started the essay yet either.”

he laughed nervously, “nope, haven’t even started it. sorry for not answering, by the way. my phone was off.” hyunjin grinned, shaking his head at him.

“you don’t need to apologize for small things all the time, hyung.”

the trio was silent for a bit, before hyunjin cleared his throat as he sat up. “anyways, what were you guys up to before i came over?” the older males both answered at the same time.

“talking about minho’s love life problems.”

“talking about ariana grande.”

“changbin, what the hell!” minho hissed at him, suddenly sitting up so quickly that he got dizzy for a short while.

changbin genuinely looked surprised. “oh, was i not supposed to tell him? i’m technically not wrong.”

this clearly piqued hyunjin’s interest, the youngest furrowing his eyebrows as he turned his gaze to minho. “love problems? i don’t mean to intrude, but i can help!” the excitement was very clear in the younger’s voice.

hyunjin was an obvious romantic, anybody could tell. he thought it was cute when he saw _other_ couples doing pda in the streets. besides, whenever he had a significant other, he always planned such elaborate things for them. it’s no surprised that he was interested in helping minho.

but, did minho want help? while hyunjin was nice, he was probably just going to tell him he was a little bitch too, just in a slightly nicer way than changbin usually did.

which, of course, was honestly not wrong. but could he really handle another person calling him out for being a coward?

“i, uh, i don’t know how to word it. it’s kind of a long story,” minho mumbled, running a hand through his dark hair with a frown.

“oh, i can word this. i got you, min,” changbin offered, knowing that he had been listening to minho’s problems with love long enough to wrap it up nicely with a little bow for hyunjin.

minho was kind of glad for changbin’s presence as of right now. he silently thanked changbin with a smile for offering as he hid his face in his hands. he didn’t want hyunjin to see him while hearing his problems.

changbin cleared his throat dramatically, acting as if he was telling some old time story. his story wasn’t nearly as long enough. “to make a long story short, minho is in love with jisung but jisung’s in love with felix and minho is too much of a coward to come clean,” he said all in one breath, leaning back against the chair after he finished.

hyunjin blinked - once, twice, _thrice_ \- trying to understand what the older male said to him. he tilted his head slightly, furrowing his eyebrows as he tried to process.

the eldest in the room spoke up, removing his hands from his face. “hey, i am not a coward!”

“do you really want to go there?”

just as the two were about to start their regular, friendly bickering, hyunjin interrupted them. “wait, so let me get this straight. jisung doesn’t know you’re in love with him?” when he saw minho shaking his head, his eyes widened. “really? how? i thought this was all common knowledge already.”

arching an eyebrow, minho turned his gaze over to him. “what do you mean?”

changbin giggled ( _this fucker has some audacity_ , minho thought) as he shook his head patronizingly at him. “minho, pretty much everyone in our whole friendship group knows that you’re in love with him. i guess felix and jisung were the only stupid ones who didn’t know.” he said, the slight smile on his face made minho want to choke him out (in a friendly manner, of course.) hyunjin nodded in agreement.

seeing hyunjin nod his head made him frown. “was i really that obvious…?” he trailed off, the other two instantly nodding their head.

“your heart eyes were always very apparent when you two hung out.”

“sometimes you’d forget i was there when jisung showed up.”

“didn’t you help him pay for that plane ticket to malaysia that one time?”

“oh, yeah! that was crazy, i don’t know how he didn’t realize you were in love with him then and there.”

“then there was that time…”

before they could finish making minho want to crawl into a hole and die, he interrupted them. “okay, okay, i get it! you guys can shut up now,” he grumbled, cheeks pink from the embarrassment.

god, he didn’t even know he was that obvious. he thought people would shrug it off as them just being really close friends.

when hyunjin noticed that minho was embarrassed, he felt kind of guilty. he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “sorry, hyung. we didn’t mean to embarrass you…” he trailed off. “but,” he started, “i do think you should tell him.” his voice was soft as he brought his hand to his shoulder.

“seriously, why do you both think it’s that simple?” minho rolled his eyes, obviously not happy that neither of his friends wanted him to keep it to himself.

changbin got up from his seat on the couch, opting to sit on the other side of minho. his tone was soft too, which made minho aware that he did feel guilty about the teasing earlier, even if he didn’t outright apologize. “if you never tell him, you’re going to spend the rest of your life wondering. wondering what would have been different if you did tell him how much he meant to you. we want what’s best for you, min, and telling jisung is the best.”

his tone almost sounded hurt, as if he understood completely about what he was talking about. his expression was sad, too. minho would ask about it later. he didn’t want to embarrass him in front of hyunjin.

the youngest added in, “even if you don’t feel confident to tell him right _now_ , you still can in the future. they’ve only been dating for six months, it isn’t like they’re going to get married this quickly or something,” hyunjin joked, hoping to lighten the mood. he could sense the sadness radiating off of his two hyungs, which made him feel upset too.

changbin chuckled slightly at this, nodding his head. “jinnie’s right. while you don’t have all the time in the world,” he turned to whisper, “you’re not a spring chicken anymore.” minho couldn’t help but smile and roll his eyes, still listening. “you still have enough time to build your confidence up.”

it was silent between the three of them for a moment before hyunjin stood up quickly, causing the other boys to look up at him with confused expressions.

“it’s too sad in here. we should go do something!” hyunjin cheered, hoping that they would agree. if they didn’t, well, hyunjin wouldn’t hesitate to bring out the puppy dog eyes.

arching an eyebrow, minho stayed seated on the floor. “it’s, like, twelve thirty in the morning. what’s even open at this time?”

now it was changbin’s turn to stand up quickly. “we could always go to the bar. jinnie’s old enough now, and woojin is sure to slip us a few free drinks here and there.”

well, free drinks did sound nice at this moment. but minho just wasn’t sure if he felt like getting drunk just because he was sad. as he opened his mouth to voice his opinion, the door began to unlock.

“oh!” jisung exclaimed once the door was open, surprised that there were people open. “i didn’t think you’d be awake, minho hyung. hi jinnie, hi binnie!” he greeted them cheerfully, glad to see his friends. felix entered the apartment after him, smiling as he greeted them as well.

changbin appeared to be looking everywhere but at the couple who entered, and it was very clear that he felt uncomfortable. which minho thought was very weird, but he wasn’t going to call him out in front of everyone. he’d have a talk with him privately later.

in true jisung fashion, the male began to ramble on. “well, it’s so great that you guys are here! i was going to tell you all tomorrow, but i guess i can let you guys know! just don’t let the others know, okay?” he was practically jumping now, very excited to share whatever news he had with them. felix looked equally excited.

hyunjin, changbin, and minho all exchanged confused looks with each other before turning their attention back to them.

“well? spit it out, sungie,” minho said, a small chuckle following his words

however, it was felix who spit it out.

“we’re getting married!” the australian blurted out, causing everyone besides jisung and him to widen his eyes.

minho, who was taking a sip of water while felix was sharing, practically choked on it. “w-what?”

jisung just giggled as he held up his hand, showing the very expensive looking ring on his finger. it was gorgeous. it must have cost felix a fortune. the gold band was glistening even underneath the shitty lights in their apartment. and don’t even get minho started on the way the diamond looked on top of it. seeing the other guys check it out made felix laugh sheepishly, bringing a hand to the back of his neck.

“i proposed tonight, and jisung said yes! isn’t this great?” felix looked like a happy little kid, like a kid who just got the toy that their parents said they weren’t going to get.

“yes. that’s just super,” minho muttered bitterly under his breath. he could see hyunjin look at him guiltily, clearly feeling bad about the joke he made earlier. minho wasn’t mad, though. it was supposed to be a silly joke. it wasn’t like any of them expected the young couple to come waltzing in here, announcing their (very) sudden engagement.

changbin didn’t look very happy, either. minho could tell that the small smile he had on his face was completely faked.

suddenly, the bar idea from earlier didn’t sound too bad to minho. he hoped woojin was working tonight, he was in the mood for a free drink. or two free drinks. or six.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> leave kudos and comments plz i'm desperate for praise or criticism.


	3. iii.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me?? posting twice in one week?? truly shocking. i'm not going to try to jinx myself, but i'm going to try to be more consistent with updating. anyways, this was un beta'd so if there's any mistakes i'm sorry :(

“i can't believe they're engaged.” hyunjin said as he flopped onto minho's bed, smiling sheepishly once minho shushed him. “sorry.” ****  
** **

minho sat on his desk chair, spinning on it to face his friends. “it's fine, you haven’t been here for a while. i don't blame you for forgetting that the walls are super thin,” he assured him. ****  
** **

it was true, his apartment walls were way too thin. he had spent way too many nights telling jisung to keep it down in the middle of the night. ****  
** **

* * *

_“han jisung! do you not realize that it is almost three in the morning?” minho had asked, banging on his roommate’s bedroom door. he heard multiple crashes before the door suddenly opened._

_jisung had a mischievous grin on his face as he opened the door. “well, technically, it’s only two forty-two,” he said with a giggle following it._ ****  
** **

_minho did not have time for this. he had an eight a.m. class, and it was hard trying to fall asleep when all he could hear was jisung screaming/singing in the other room. he placed his palm on his forehead._ ****  
** **

_“sungie. please. just go to bed. i have class soon, and i really need to sleep,” the elder pleaded, not in the mood to play around with his best friend at the moment._ ****  
** **

_jisung pouted at this. he was clearly disappointed that minho didn’t feel like playing around right now, but he decided to test his luck._ ****  
** **

_“tell you what. i will quiet down if, and ONLY if, you come and sing the next song,” jisung pulled minho into his room before the other male could protest._ ****  
** **

_ah, that explained the off key singing. jisung was using some karaoke machine that looked older than him. no wonder he had to scream for it to try and recognize the fact that he was singing. “where did you even find this thing?” minho inquired, crouching down to examine it more closely._ ****  
** **

_it was clearly meant to be sleek in design, but the years did not do it any justice. even if it was only around twenty years old, it wasn’t in good shape._ ****  
** **

_jisung just shrugged. “i saw it on my way home from class. isn’t it amazing?”_ ****  
** **

_the two males clearly had different views on the object. but jisung’s childlike amazement was enough to make this thing look like god’s greatest gift to Minho._ ****  
** **

_but, he had sleep to get back to._ ****  
** **

_“we can sing together after i get back from class, i promise. i really need some sleep,” minho instantly regretted his words once he saw the pouty expression on the younger._ ****  
** **

_god, minho couldn’t say no to him. especially not when jisung said, “come on, i love your singing. it relaxes me so much, i could probably fall asleep without even being tired.”_ ****  
** **

_“is this your way of calling my singing boring?” minho had teased, choosing not to think of the way his heart started beating rapidly._ ****  
** **

_jisung’s cheeks flushed a bright shade of red. “what? no! that’s not what i - minho,” he whined once he saw the older laughing at him._ ****  
** **

_“okay, fine. just one song. BUT we’re going to sleep right after.”_ ****  
** **

_the younger seemed rather pleased with this deal. “okay!” he sat on his bed, an excited grin on his face as he waited for minho to choose a song._ ****  
** **

_it was hard to choose a song, minho wasn’t going to lie. he wanted to choose the shortest song, but he knew jisung wouldn’t let him get away with that. seeing a song he recognized, he instantly clicked on it._ ****  
** **

_for you by yim jae bum. looking back at this moment, it was kind of ironic._ ****  
** **

_“i know you’re the only one that will make me live right in this world.”_ ****  
** **

_when minho finished the slow song, he turned to see a lightly snoring jisung in his bed. he couldn’t help but fondly smile._ he wasn’t lying when he said my singing could put him to sleep _, minho thought._ ****  
** **

_chewing his lip in thought, minho quickly planted a small kiss to the younger’s forehead. he couldn’t help it, he looked so peaceful._ ****  
** **

_jisung couldn’t be described as anything besides ethereal. fluffy dark brown hair, wide brown eyes, chubby cheeks, everything about him was gorgeous. long eyelashes, pink lips, minho could go on about him forever._ ****  
** **

_but he didn’t have forever. shaking his head as if it would get rid of his thoughts, minho pulled a blanket over jisung before leaving the room._ ****  
** **

_he turned back, though. “i think i’m in love with you, sungie,” he whispered, even though no one was awake to hear it._

* * *

“hellooooo, earth to minho?” hyunjin lightly shook the elder, causing him to jump slightly.  ****  
** **

“huh? oh sorry, what’d you say?” minho asked, genuinely feeling bad that he had zoned out of the conversation. ****  
** **

changbin, who had been quiet this whole time, snickered from his place on the floor. “no one said anything.” ****  
** **

hyunjin smiled sadly as he shook his head. “i wasn’t saying sorry for forgetting about your thin walls. i was saying sorry about the engagement,” he said softly, eyes full of pity. ****  
** **

if there was anything minho hated receiving, it was definitely pity. it almost made him feel sick to his stomach knowing that his two friends probably pitied him. “it’s fine,” he choked out, his voice cracking slightly. ugh, disgusting. he cleared his throat before adding, “i think we should do what binnie said earlier and go to a bar. or something.” _because i need to get out of this place,_ minho thought. ****  
** **

the clock read twelve thirty a.m, which wasn’t too late for an appearance at the lilac palm.  ****  
** **

hyunjin and changbin exchanged looks between one another before nodding their heads.  ****  
** **

“but, you’re changing, right?” changbin asked, arching an eyebrow as he looked the elder up and down. ****  
** **

minho’s jaw dropped slightly. what was wrong with what he was wearing? sure, his bigbang shirt was pretty old and washed out. it basically wasn’t even black anymore. the design was peeling in some places. also, there was a hole by the arm holes, making it appear to be a sleeveless shirt from afar. also, his gray sweats weren’t the most attractive thing, but he was comfortable. ****  
** **

regardless, minho crossed his arms against his chest defiantly. “what’s wrong with what i’m wearing?” ****  
** **

changbin didn’t say a single thing, and just proceeded to give him another onceover. ****  
** **

it was hyunjin who answered. “nothing! nothing’s wrong with it. it’s just...wouldn’t you feel a bit underdressed once we got there? that’s not a good feeling,” the words came out rushed, hyunjin clearly not trying to hurt his feelings. ****  
** **

grumbling some curses under his breath, minho stood up and made his way to his closet. hyunjin _was_ right, no one likes being underdressed. ****  
** **

minho, honestly having no shame with the younger males, began to take off his sweats before he heard a shriek from hyunjin, followed by something falling over. he probably knocked something over in his rush to turn around. he playfully rolled his eyes. ****  
** **

“we all know you’ve seen way worse than this, jinnie,” minho remarked, grabbing a random pair of black jeans and putting them on.  ****  
** **

hyunjin sputtered out a few words of gibberish, but didn’t exactly disagree.

* * *

lilac palm wasn’t exactly packed at this time, but it wasn’t completely empty. the stench of sweaty bodies and alcohol hit minho’s nose the instant he pushed open the door. ****  
** **

“oh god, why did i come here?” he voiced his regrets to his friends, seeing numerous couples that made him want to throw up.  ****  
** **

he wasn’t planning on throwing up because of couples, he was planning to throw up later in the night because he had drank too much from trying to drink away his problems. ****  
** **

hyunjin grabbed his shoulders, steering him in the direction of an empty seat. he forced him to sit down in it with a smile. “it’s not that bad tonight, hyung! you just need some alcohol in your system, that’s all.” ****  
** **

minho couldn’t agree more. ****  
** **

“just don’t get so drunk that you start throwing up in the bathroom _here_ ,” changbin grunted, sliding into the seat next to him. he shuddered at the mere thought of having to rub his friend’s back as he threw up in the absolutely disgusting bathroom this place had.  ****  
** **

minho shrugged. “no promises. woojin!” he called out once he saw his friend working the bar. ****  
** **

woojin turned and greeted them with such a genuine smile, it could even make minho’s heart warm. he made his way to their side, waving slightly. “hey guys! it’s late, what are you guys doing out at this time?” he questioned, genuinely surprised to see them at this time. ****  
** **

while minho did come here often, he always seemed to come early and leave early. he’d come in around eight or nine, then leave an hour or two later.  ****  
** **

changbin wasn’t a frequent bar visitor, he’d rather just stay at his apartment and drink instead. he’d only come to the bar if he and woojin had plans or he was meeting another friend there. ****  
** **

then, hyunjin didn’t show his face at this bar often because he didn’t like to go by himself. plus, he lived further away than the other two. ****  
** **

“what, are you not happy to see us?” minho teased, arching an eyebrow. ****  
** **

woojin rolled his eyes playfully. “hyunjin and changbin, i’m delighted to see. you, well…” he trailed off, followed by a hearty laugh that indicated he was only joking. ****  
** **

minho often wondered why woojin was working at this bar out of all places. woojin seemed way too soft and fluffy to be working as a bartender who had to break up at least three fights a night. no, minho thought woojin would’ve been a better waiter or something. maybe a dog walker. ****  
** **

then again, minho knew deep down that his hyung could totally kick his ass if he truly wanted to. ****  
** **

“what’ll it be, guys? first drink is on me, just don’t tell my boss,” woojin winked at them. they all knew he would be giving them drinks on the house all night anyways, he was just too nice. ****  
** **

changbin instantly answered, “we need shots. lots of them,” he nodded his head as he spoke, as if he was agreeing with himself. “doesn’t matter what you give us shots of, we just need them.” ****  
** **

the bartender furrowed his eyebrows at the trio. “hm, i always thought you were a strictly beer only type of guy, binnie.” changbin sighed deeply.  ****  
** **

“i just need to get drunk as quick as possible.” ****  
** **

minho and hyunjin exchanged looks with one another, both communicating without saying a single word to the other.  ****  
** **

first, the younger nodded his head towards minho then at changbin with furrowed eyebrows. a silent way of asking if he knew what was up with the other male. ****  
** **

minho shook his head, frowning deeply as he looked over at changbin again, who was listening to woojin list off the types of shots he could give him. ****  
** **

changbin had been off ever since jisung and felix came back to the apartment, which was just downright confusing. minho really needed to have a talk with him.  ****  
** **

as much as minho wallowed in his problems, he couldn’t stand to see changbin do the same. no matter how much minho was hurting, he was going to shove it down and bottle it up if it meant that changbin would open up. ****  
** **

which, he knew would take forever. seo changbin just didn’t open up to anyone. changbin had since been exposed for being a big softy that just likes to act tough, but that didn’t mean that he wore his heart on his sleeve often. ****  
** **

no, changbin didn’t like to talk to his problems. and even though minho was the exact same way, he was going to get it out of him.

* * *

apparently, if minho ever wanted to get something out of changbin, all he had to do was get him shitfaced drunk.  ****  
** **

it wasn’t like minho had never been with him while he was drunk before. no, he had to rub the younger’s back way too many times while he was throwing up the liquor his body couldn’t take. ****  
** **

while changbin was drunk all those times, he had never gotten quite like this. this was the drunkest he had ever been in his whole life. those shots were _not_ his friend. ****  
** **

changbin was already a lightweight. no matter what he said, the boy was tiny. he couldn’t hold that much alcohol in him. ****  
** **

“hyung?” changbin’s word came out slurred after he downed his fourth shot in the last hour. ****  
** **

minho was now getting worried. “hey, maybe you should try to slow down,” he said as softly as he could with the loud music playing in the building. he slid one of the shots in front of changbin away from him, moving it as far away as he could. he was left to deal with him, hyunjin had left earlier to go talk to somebody he recognized. ****  
** **

changbin just giggled at that before he tried to reach over and grab the shot glass back. “i’m fine,” once he couldn’t get the glass back, he called out, “woojin-hyung, can we get some more shots over here?” he waved his arms frantically, causing minho to roll his eyes and try to force his arms down. ****  
** **

“no! no more shots here. can we just get two water bottles?” woojin nodded, bending down to grab two bottles and sliding it over to the younger males. he opened his mouth to say something before a group of people slid in at the empty seats of the bar. frowning, he shot minho a sad smile before walking over to the new group. ****  
** **

once minho got the water, he opened his first and downed at least half of it. he would be lying if he said he wasn’t feeling the effects of the alcohol, but thank god he wasn’t the way changbin was. “drink some water.” ****  
** **

the younger shook his head, like the five year old he was deep down. “no,” he stubbornly said, pushing the water bottle away from him. ****  
** **

if minho had a dollar for each time he rolled his eyes at him tonight, he wouldn’t be a broke college student living in a shitty apartment. “i will literally force that water down your throat, binnie. drink it now.” minho didn’t want to be aggressive about it, but it seemed that aggressive minho was the only minho that drunk changbin would listen to. ****  
** **

changbin pouted, but still took a small sip of the water regardless. “hyung, do you ever think that you’re going to be alone forever?” changbin suddenly mumbled, laying his head on the cool counter and staring up at him. ****  
** **

the question made minho place his water back down onto the counter. god, yes, he did think he was going to be alone forever. hell, the literal only person he had ever fallen in love with was engaged. he didn’t think that he could ever love someone as much as he loves jisung. he chose to answer with his own question. “why do you ask?” ****  
** **

drumming his fingers against the counter, changbin sighed. “because i think i will be,” his tone was sad, a big frown washing over his face. ****  
** **

minho tilted his head slightly at this, his eyebrows furrowing. “binnie, don’t say that. there’s someone out there for you, you won’t be alone forever.” minho wasn’t lying, he _did_ believe that there was someone out there for the younger. he just wished he could say the same for himself. ****  
** **

the way changbin suddenly lifted his head off the counter startled minho, causing him to flinch slightly. “no, you don’t understand. i _will_ be alone forever. the only person that ever loved me doesn’t want anything to do with me anymore, and it’s _all_ my fucking fault,” minho could see the tears that were filling in changbin’s eyes as he swirled on his seat to grip onto his shirt. ****  
** **

“hey, hey, don’t cry. it’s alright. you can talk to hyung about it. what happened?” minho whispered in the other’s ear as he pulled him into him as close as he could, the stools they were sitting on didn’t exactly make it easy. ****  
** **

changbin didn’t bother to pull away and wipe his tears, choosing to just cry into the elder’s shirt instead. minho didn’t care about his shirt at the moment, but he would probably regret letting him cry into it at the end of the night. he pulled away, only to choke out, “i loved felix so much. shit, i still do love him. but i messed it up. i-i got too close and pushed him away and now he’s fucking engaged,” changbin cursed, opting to put his head on minho’s shoulder now. with how much he was cursing, it was clear that changbin was both very upset _and_ very drunk. ****  
** **

“wait, what? i just thought he used to have a school-boy crush on you, and you didn’t feel the same way?” minho questioned, his eyes slightly widened from this news. now it made sense as to why his whole demeanor changed as soon as felix entered. ****  
** **

the younger shook his head, head still on top of his shoulder. “there’s a lot of things you don’t know. we went out here and there. i-i can’t really call it a relationship, because i didn’t treat him like we were in one. fuck, hyung, i’m terrible. i only called him when i was lonely, when i just wanted some company,” he was struggling to breathe, the tears falling down his face quickly. minho soothingly rubbed his back, nodding along as he listened. ****  
** **

“then, things got overwhelming. he wanted me to meet his family, minho. i panicked. i pushed him away, i stopped texting first, i did _everything_ i could to get him to leave, but he wouldn’t.”  ****  
** **

_of course he didn’t leave,_ minho thought, _he’s too much of a nice guy to leave._ ****  
** **

“so i told him i couldn’t do it anymore. i said the meanest things i have ever said in my life to him. i saw the light in his eyes leave, god, i saw his heart break. i’m so terrible,” changbin continued to sob into his hyung’s shoulder. he took a shaky breath before continuing, “i thought it wouldn’t affect me. i’d feel lonely, yeah, but that’d be all. but i guess i didn’t think he would actually move on. as stupid as it sounds, i guess i thought he would always wait for me.” ****  
** **

minho closed his eyes, taking a deep breath of his own. it was a lot to take in. after all, he really did think he knew everything about him. ****  
** **

changbin pulled away from the embrace, wiping his eyes with his long sleeve. “seeing him tonight with jisung, seeing him _so_ happy with him tonight...it broke me. yeah, it hurt hearing about them from you. but i didn’t know it’d hurt so bad when i saw them.” ****  
** **

everything finally added up. why changbin always listened so intently when minho told him about the couple, why changbin stopped coming to big group outings, why changbin hadn’t been caught in the same room as felix for more than six months now.  ****  
** **

“i think i’m going to throw up.” ****  
** **

as soon as the words left changbin’s mouth, panic set in minho. he stood up instantly, pulling the shorter man off of the stool and into the bathroom. ****  
** **

_please don’t throw up on me, please don’t throw up on me, please don’t throw up on me_ were the only words in minho’s mind as he pulled him into a stall. ****  
** **

changbin had been in this situation many times, dropping to his knees and holding on to the toilet bowl as soon as he got into the stall. ****  
** **

thankfully, he didn’t throw up. at least, not at that moment. ****  
** **

he breathed deeply before tugging on minho’s shirt, pulling the older down to the floor with him. ****  
** **

minho winced, clearly forgetting how strong changbin was. “uh, binnie, it’s a little tight down here,” he muttered, feeling a little squished into the tiny stall. even with the door opened, it still felt crowded. also, he wasn’t too keen on sitting on the floor of a public bathroom stall.  ****  
** **

changbin ignored what he just said completely, choosing to just grip onto minho’s shirt. “you have to confess to jisung. you have to let him know before it’s too late. you have to,” he repeated. ****  
** **

the panic once again set in minho, causing him to rapidly shake his head. “i-i can’t. it’ll ruin everything. he’s happy with felix,” he choked out, feeling tears of his own fill his eyes. ****  
** **

at the mere mention of felix, changbin gripped the toilet bowl so hard that his hands started to shake. minho could see the tears threatening to spill out. “if you don’t confess, you’re going to spend your whole life wondering what could have happened if you did. please, there’s a chance he can feel the same way. promise me that you will tell him before it’s too late.” ****  
** **

it wasn’t that easy. he couldn’t do it. call him a coward, a fool, whatever it is. he was too afraid of rejection as well as the idea of losing jisung completely. no matter how much it hurt, he’d rather see jisung completely in love with somebody else than not have him in his life at all. ****  
** **

just as minho was about to open his mouth to tell him he couldn’t, he heard sniffling from behind him. he turned to see who it was, his eyes widening. ****  
** **

“jinnie? what’s wrong?” hyunjin stood in front of the two, tears in his own eyes. his pink lips formed into a pout. he wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. ****  
** **

“i came in here to use the bathroom, but then i heard you two talking and crying, and now i’m crying too,” the boy rambled on, his lip quivering as he did.  ****  
** **

hyunjin has always been emotional as well as empathetic. it wasn’t surprising that he was crying because the older two were crying. ****  
** **

minho felt his heart grow warm, standing up and pulling changbin up with him. he truly did have good friends (even if they were annoying sometimes.) he pulled hyunjin into a tight hug, feeling changbin join in after. “don’t cry, jinnie, we’re fine now,” he said with a small chuckle, sniffling slightly. ****  
** **

they stood like that for a while, appreciating each others’ embrace. it wasn’t until minho spoke again that they pulled away. ****  
** **

“changbin’s hands were just on that toilet bowl.” 

* * *

after calling a taxi for hyunjin and changbin (hyunjin ensured him that he’d stay the night with him), minho began to make his way back to his apartment. ****  
** **

it was now around three a.m., and the time was starting to catch up to him. he had to go back to his apartment eventually. ****  
** **

he couldn’t stop thinking about what changbin had said.  ****  
** **

was he right? did he really have a chance? should he even risk it? way too many unanswered questions were floating around his head, and they were all about jisung.  ****  
** **

god, he couldn’t believe he was considering listening to a drunk seo changbin’s advice. that’s how he knew that jisung had his head all fucked up. ****  
** **

the walk back to his apartment ended way too soon for his liking. unlocking the door, he didn’t bother turning the lights on as he entered. he shrugged off his jacket, nearly screaming out when he heard a, “hey hyung!” from the couch. ****  
** **

“jesus, jisung! what are you still doing awake?” minho asked, his heart racing as he fumbled to find the light switch. ****  
** **

jisung’s giggle did a beating on his heart, and he cursed silently about it. “i always wait for you whenever you go out without me.” ****  
** **

which was true. every time minho even left the house without the younger, jisung would try to stay awake until he came back. minho wasn’t sure if it was because he wanted to make sure that he came back home safely, or if it’s just because he didn’t like being alone in the apartment. ****  
** **

he hung his jacket on the coat rack they kept by the door. “just figured you’d be asleep or with felix. or something like that,” minho muttered, his voice coming out monotone. ****  
** **

jisung cocked his head to the right slightly, like an innocent and confused puppy. “is everything okay? you’ve been seeming off lately.” the genuine concern in his voice served to make minho feel terrible about the way he had been acting. even if his brain believed he had the right to act like this. ****  
** **

the older flopped down next to him on the couch. he gave a small smile. “i’m fine, sungie. don’t worry about it,” he tried not to break down right then and there. “so you’re getting married, huh?” he choked the words out, causing him to roll his eyes at himself. he cleared his throat, hoping that jisung wouldn’t think it was weird. ****  
** **

jisung frowned, he knew the elder too well to know that he was just lying about not being upset. “minho, i know that you’re upset. but i’m not going to push you to talk about it. because you’ll talk to me when you’re ready, right?” ****  
** **

_no,_ minho thought, _i can never talk about this with you._ ****  
** **

“yeah, i will. thanks, sungie,” he said, you know, like a liar. “enough talk about me already! let’s talk about the fact that you’re now an engaged man,” minho was just glad his voice didn’t crack or choke up when he said that. he genuinely didn’t want to talk about it because he feared he would start crying all over again, but he had to act like he was happy. he had to act like he was _so_ glad that the younger was getting married. ****  
** **

jisung grinned widely, basically jumping up and down on the couch now. “i know, it’s crazy, huh?” jisung asked, a saccharine look in his eyes. ****  
** **

“yep, that’s definitely how i’d describe it,” minho muttered bitterly, but jisung either didn’t hear it or didn’t think of it as weird. ****  
** **

“i have something important to ask of you, though.” ****  
** **

“okay, let’s hear it.” ****  
** **

jisung suddenly grabbed ahold of the elder’s hands, causing minho’s eyes to widen. his hands were soft, warm, and slightly sweaty, but minho didn’t mind. as long as it was jisung, he’d never mind a thing. ****  
** **

the younger stared deep into his eyes, causing minho to look everywhere but at him. he just chuckled at this. “i know it’s so soon to ask, i mean, we only got engaged a few hours ago. but i was just wondering,” he started off, that big grin still on his face, “if you’d be my best man. i always figured that if i got married, you’d be my best man.” ****  
** **

minho thought he was going to throw up. and it was not because of the alcohol.


	4. iv.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lol happy 4/20 boyzzz enjoy this chapter. this is unbeta’d again so if there’s any mistakes i’m sorry :(

okay, so, maybe the reason minho wanted to throw up _was_ because of the alcohol.

he ran towards their shared bathroom, not even bothering to give the younger man a response. mostly because he didn’t know how to respond, and because he didn’t want to get his vomit on the rug.

he knelt next to the toilet, feeling himself gag. oh god, he really should have taken woojin on that offer of onion rings earlier. he knew better than to drink on an empty stomach. but, of course, today did not seem to be his day.

he didn’t even drink that much. he had drank way more in the past. he probably wouldn’t even wake up with a hangover, but here he was, practically throwing up his guts.

minho wasn’t sure how long he sat by the toilet, throwing up those cursed shots. he flinched at a touch of his shoulder, meeting eyes with jisung.

jisung simply sighed deeply, shaking his head at the elder as if he was looking at a child who got caught stealing out of the cookie jar. “minho, how many times have i told you that you can’t just drink on an empty stomach?” he scolded, bringing a hand to rub his back soothingly.

“also, staring into the toilet is only going to make you want to throw up more. come on, get up,” jisung pulled the older man up quickly, which only served to make minho realize how weak he truly was.

he gripped onto the sink as soon as jisung let go of his arms, meeting eyes with him in the mirror. “when did you get so strong?” his words came out slurred as he arched an eyebrow.

the younger flashed him a cocky smile, making minho immediately avert his eyes. he didn’t want to do anything he’d regret. because, god, minho would be lying if he said he didn’t want to kiss him right now.

he always wondered what’d it be like to kiss him. not to toot his own horn or anything, but minho knew he was more experienced than him. just from a glance, he could already tell they were probably soft. and they probably tasted like cherries, he _always_ saw him applying that damn chapstick.

but he couldn’t just kiss him. that’d be wrong. he could never do that to felix, or anyone, in that matter. plus, he kinda just got finished throwing up, and that’s pretty gross.

jisung flexed his arms in the mirror, the big grin on his face. “what can i say, i’ve been working out,” he giggled, looking proud of himself.

“that’s great, sungie. does that mean you can carry me to bed now?” minho was only half joking, he really did want to be in his bed right now. he wanted to be under his comforter even though it’s hot in their apartment. he felt like hiding away from everyone and everything for a week, or maybe even a month.

“oh! yeah, yeah i can do that!” jisung exclaimed, seemingly have forgotten about how minho could barely stand on his own.

the younger grabbed the elder’s arm, throwing it around his shoulder. he went to wrap his arm around his waist, but minho shivered and tried to back away from him.

“minho, how am i supposed to help you get to your bed if you won’t let me touch you?” jisung said softly, pouting at him with his puppy dog brown eyes.

minho looked down at the floor. “sorry, sorry,” he muttered, this time moving jisung’s arm around his waist. his gaze locked at the floor.

his grip wasn’t too tight to make him uncomfortable, but it was definitely tight enough to make him feel as if they were too close.

it only took two minutes, at most, for them to get to his room, but it felt like two hours for minho. his head was already spinning, but jisung’s arm around his waist made it spin even more.

minho flopped onto his bed as soon as he got the chance, pressing his face down into his pillow. “thanks,” the word came out muffled.

jisung giggled as he pulled minho’s comforter over him. “next time, you better eat something. or else,” he gave an empty threat, sitting at the end of his bed.

“oooh, i’m sooo scared,” minho teased, still not lifting his head up from his pillow.

god, jisung was such a great friend. he always knew how to make him laugh, even if he was feeling like his head got ran over by two semi trucks. but he was also so caring, and sweet, and gentle, and oh god, he was going to do it.

“jisung,” minho started, sitting up so quickly that he had to grip onto his bed sheets for balance. he was going to confess, changbin was right. he had to tell him now, otherwise the results would be terrible.

“hmm?” the younger hummed, turning to look at him, brown eyes wide. “what’s up?” he asked, a small smile on his face.

”i...i,” minho stuttered on his words, mentally facepalming.

jisung laughed at this, bringing a hand up to his mouth to cover it. “spit it out, hyung~” he sang obnoxiously.

“I’ll be your best man!” minho’s eyes widened at his own words, covering his mouth with both of his hands. oh god, what the hell did he just do?

 _you chickened out, that’s what you just did, you moron,_ minho thought.

the way jisung’s eyes lit up was enough to make minho’s thoughts about him being a coward dissipate. “really? oh my gosh, thank you so much!” jisung practically yelled, tackling the other into a hug.

if being his best man made him this happy, then minho would gladly do it. no matter how much it killed him inside.

“uh, not to ruin the moment or anything, but it’s, like, three a.m. and we don’t want another noise complaint,” minho chuckled.

jisung made an “o” shape with his mouth and got off of him. “you should probably try to sleep. that hangover is going to kill you in the morning,” jisung wiggled his finger at him. “good night, hyung!” he said cheerfully before leaving the room, closing the door behind him.

minho stared up at his ceiling, the moments playing back in his head. “lee minho, you truly are a colossal moron,” he muttered to himself, grabbing his phone out of his pocket.

**— two and a half men —**

minwhore (3:53 a.m.) » so i May have just did a dumb bitch thing

 

minho placed his phone on his bedside table, closing his eyes tightly. he’ll tell them what happened in the morning. maybe he’ll feel better about what happened once he woke up.

* * *

he definitely did _not_ wake up in a better mood, but it wasn’t really a surprise to him. he sat up in his bed, rubbing his eyes with his hands. he squinted at his alarm clock, the time reading 12:47 p.m. thank god, he only had plans to lock himself in his room and overthink today. thankfully, his head was only spinning a little bit as compared to last night. he should still take some painkillers for it. he reached for his phone, eyes widening once he saw all the missed notifications on it.

 

**(2) missed calls from hwangtingz**

**(6) new messages from two and a half men**

**(1) new message from sungie**

 

the first thing minho opened was the message from jisung.

 

sungie (10:26 a.m.) » good morning hyung!! i had to leave early today, but i made sure to leave some painkillers and water on your nightstand. you better take them (;¬_¬)

 

minho glanced at his nightstand table, and sure enough, there was a glass of water with two pills right next to it. he couldn’t help but smile at it, typing back a response quickly.

 

minwhore (12:51 p.m.) » thank you so much, i promise i’ll take them. see you soon?

 

he knew that jisung probably wouldn’t reply until later, he was just the kind of guy who didn’t pay attention to his phone that much if he had company. minho admired that about him.

shaking his head as if it would get the thought out of his head, he quickly popped the pills in his mouth and downed the water. the memories from last night came rushing back to him, and he frowned.

he opened the group chat between hyunjin, changbin, and himself, only to be bombarded with hyunjin typing in all capital letters.

 

**— two and a half men —**

hwangtingz (3:53 a.m.) » oh god what did u do this time

hwangtingz (3:55 a.m.) » HELLO????

hwangtingz (4:05 a.m.) » U CAN’T JUST TELL US U DID SOMETHING DUMB THEN DON’T REPLY.

hwangtingz (4:10 a.m.) » LEE MINHO!!!!

hwangtingz (4:11 a.m.) » LIKE Y WOULD U TEXT THAT AND THEN IMMEDIATELY GO TO BED OR WHATEVER.

hwangtingz (4:13 a.m) » ( ಠ ಠ )

 

yikes, he should probably text back now.

 

**— two and a half men —**

minwhore (12:56 p.m.) » lol hi i fell asleep

hwangtingz (12:56 p.m.) » oh look who it Is.

binniebaby (12:57 p.m.) » wtf is this gc’s name?

minwhore (12:57 p.m.) » should i tell him.

hwangtingz (12:57 p.m.) » no he’s going 2 get mad

minwhore (12:58 p.m.) » you’re right, i’m going to tell him

hwangtingz (12:58 p.m.) » MINHO NOOOO

binniebaby (12:58 p.m.) » did y’all forget that i’m here or what.

minwhore (12:59 p.m.) » it’s bc you’re short lol

minwhore (12:59 p.m.) » me & jinnie are the two men and you’re the half one

binniebaby (1:00 p.m) » i hope it was worth it because i’m going to choke the both of you out once i see you guys again

minwhore (1:00 p.m) » i’d like to see you try, dwarf

binniebaby (1:00 p.m.) » god gave me two hands for a reason

hwangtingz (1:00 p.m.) » IT WAS MINHO’S IDEA CHOKE HIM OUT NOT ME

minwhore (1:01 p.m.) » wow, it really be ya own homie huh.

**— binniebaby changed the chat name to “visual crew” —**

binniebaby (1:01 p.m.) » n e ways, what was the dumb bitch thing you did earlier lol

 

minho outwardly cringed once he read that message, kind of forgetting that he texted the group chat about it last night. god, they were going to bully him. at least, changbin was going to.

 

**— visual crew —**

minwhore (1:05 p.m.) » aha well you see …

minwhore (1:05 p.m.) » it’s a funny story really

hwangtingz (1:07 p.m.) » SPIT IT OUT ALREADY

minwhore (1:07 p.m.) » ok so i was going to confess to jisung last night …

hwangtingz (1:08 p.m.) » OMGGGGGGG

binniebaby (1:08 p.m.) » YOO WHAT’D HE SAY

minwhore (1:09 p.m.) » hahahahahahahahah so this is where it gets funny

minwhore (1:10 p.m.) » i May have panicked and instead of confessing i told him i’d be his best man

hwangtingz (1:10 p.m.) » r u srs

binniebaby (1:10 p.m) » you weren’t kidding when you said it was a dumb bitch thing

minwhore (1:11 p.m.) » STOP I PANICKED OKAY.

minwhore (1:12 p.m.) » he looked so happy when i said yes i couldn’t just take it back

binniebaby (1:12 p.m.) » do you not realize you’re going to have to help him with wedding stuff now

hwangtingz (1:12 p.m.) » ^^ yeah his wedding 2 someone who’s not u

minwhore (1:13 p.m.) » ok i’m not going to lie that didn’t set in until you guys said that

binniebaby (1:14 p.m.) » the dumb bitch energy is strong in this one

 

minho was about to text something snarky back before he heard the front door being unlocked. he closed the messages app, locking his phone and getting out of bed.

“minho,” he heard jisung call his name before his door open, revealing a grinning jisung. “oh, you’re up! did you take the painkillers?” he squinted at him, trying to be intimidating but ultimately failing.

the elder laughed, causing jisung to pout. “yes, i took them,” he said, motioning to the empty cup of water. he noticed a bag in jisung’s hand, arching an eyebrow. he nodded his head towards it. “what is that?”

jisung’s eyes had a childish gleam to them, wiggling the bag around as he practically jumped up and down. “i finally saved up enough money for smash bros ultimate!” he said proudly. “do you want to play? it’s pre-owned, so we don’t have to unlock all the characters.”

minho had never been one to easily turn down a request of jisung’s, not when he looks especially like a happy puppy right now.

“i’m down. just let me shower and eat something first, okay?” minho looked down at his legs, cringing when he realized he had slept in the same clothes he went to the bar in. he probably smelt disgusting.

a dramatic gasp made minho stop looking at his jeans. “you took the painkillers without eating? what is wrong with you? you’re not supposed to do that!” jisung exclaimed, looking at him as if he was crazy.

minho tilted his head to the right slightly. “oh, yeah? why not?” he questioned, crossing his arms across his chest.

“it says on the bottle!” jisung continued to talk in his loud tone of voice, shaking his head rapidly at him. “it says to take with food and water!”

minho shrugged, standing up and grabbing his towel off his closet door handle. “i took it with water, so i think it’s okay.”

“no! it says with food _and_ water! not one or the other! man, how are you still alive and breathing?” the pout on jisung’s face only made the elder laugh. “this isn’t funny.”

the elder walked over to him, placing his hands on both of his shoulders. “sungie, i am fine. i’m not going to die, see, i’m still breathing.”

jisung began to feel his neck with two fingers, causing minho to shiver and back away. “what are you doing?” he asked cautiously.

“i’m checking to make sure you still have a pulse,” jisung sounded so serious, minho couldn’t help but playfully roll his eyes.

“i’m fine! now, please let me go shower. set the game up.” jisung seemed unsure, staring at him in silence for a few moments before leaving the room.

god, moments like these were just going to break minho’s heart even more.

* * *

minho took the quickest shower he probably ever had in his life. why? because jisung wouldn’t stop knocking on the bathroom door, telling him to hurry up.

it was endearing the first few times, but he knew that jisung simply wouldn’t stop until he heard the shower turn off.

he got dressed quickly, not caring about how he looked right now because he wasn’t planning on leaving the house at all today.

as soon as he opened the door to leave the bathroom, he heard jisung yell from the kitchen, “finally! what took you so long?” minho rolled his eyes playfully, glancing at the clock on the wall.

“i was literally in there for ten minutes,” minho said as he walked into the kitchen, hoping to find something to eat. he didn’t really feel like cooking right now.

standing in front of him was jisung, motioning him to a bowl of cereal with a carton of milk next to it. “i didn’t pour the milk in yet because i didn’t want it to get soggy,” he explained, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “you should eat quickly, so the painkillers won’t kill you instead of the pain,” jisung seemed to be happy about his remark, grinning widely.

the younger continued to ramble on. “i was going to cook you something, but we have, like, no ingredients here. speaking of which, we should probably go grocery shopping today. will you come with me?”

minho blinked a couple of times, trying to take in everything that left his mouth so quickly. he just decided to cut him off, “thank you. i mean, it’s the thought that counts,” minho couldn’t help but ruffle the younger’s hair a bit. his heart felt so warm that jisung cared so much about his eating habits, but he tried to ignore it. he couldn’t just keep making things awkward.

he grabbed the carton, pouring a decent amount of milk into the bowl before making his way to the couch with it. jisung came bounding after him, sitting on the couch carefully as to not spill minho’s cereal.

“are you ready to get destroyed?” jisung teased, handing him the other controller.

minho swallowed a bit of his cereal before laughing. “i should be asking you that. who the hell chooses to play with bowser jr?”

jisung cheeks flushed a bright red. “hey! i am simply testing out a new character. who knows, maybe he’s the best character in the whole game?” he said stubbornly, scoffing once he saw who minho chose. “pokemon trainer? really? there’s a whole new roster yet you choose him?”

“pokemon trainer is superior, sorry you can’t admit that,” he remarked back, quickly shoving the rest of his cereal in his mouth so he could focus. he placed the bowl on the coffee table, holding his controller with both of his hands. “i’m not going to go easy on you,” he grinned widely.

jisung playfully rolled his eyes, shoving him slightly. “shut up, once this is over, you’re going to _wish_ i went easy on you.”

the match started off, and it was clear that minho already had an advantage.

“w-wait, i’m trying to figure out how to jump, hold on,” jisung exclaimed, pressing multiple buttons on his controller. “why can’t he jump higher?” he shouted, holding on the button as if it would make his character jump higher.

minho laughed loudly, his charizard moving quickly across the screen and slashing at jisung’s character. “i told you not to choose him,” minho said in between laughs.

“that’s not fair, i wasn’t ready to start!” jisung whined, attempting to knock minho’s controller out of his hand.

minho leaned away from him, trying to keep his grip on his controller. “cheater!” minho shouted, shoving the younger with one of his hands. his charizard hit bowser jr with a tailwhip.

jisung gasped dramatically. “stop hitting me!” he yelled, choosing to make his character run away from him rather than fighting back.

“that’s the point of the game!”

“no, the point of the game is for _me_ to beat _you_!” jisung tackled minho against the couch, both of their controllers falling out of their hands. minho let out a grunt, jisung sitting on top of his torso.

“i will push you off of me, do not try it,” minho threatened the younger, hands trying to reach his controller that was on the floor.

jisung grabbed his hands, holding them above his head. “no, stop cheating!” jisung laughed, tightening his grip on his wrists.

minho couldn’t bring himself to laugh, staring into jisung’s eyes. god, they were so close right now. jisung said something again, but minho couldn’t hear him. jisung cocked his head to the right, moving his lips and saying something else that minho also couldn’t hear. all minho could hear was his heart beating way too damn quick. could jisung hear it too?

a knock on their apartment door brought minho out of his head, jisung’s eyes widening and letting go of the elder’s hands. he got off of him, minho letting out a breath he hadn’t even realize he had been holding.

jisung opened the door, sounding out of breath. “felix, what’s up? i didn’t know we had plans today,” jisung sounded pleasantly surprised, running a hand through his hair. minho had to fight back an eye roll as he sat up on the couch.

“ah, no, i left my keys here last night. chan was pretty mad that i called him so late just to open the door,” minho heard felix’s deep voice say, a low chuckle following it.

“oh, okay! i’ll go get them, hold on,” jisung moves out of the way, letting felix into the apartment and running off into his room.

minho cleared his throat, causing felix to look at him. “hi, felix,” he said, waving slightly at him and standing up. felix seemed to look relieved that minho was the one who broke the silence, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

“hi hyung…” he trailed off, biting on his bottom lip. “hey, just to be sure, you and i are cool right?” he asked, his tone sounding nervous.

minho picked up his cereal bowl from earlier off the coffee table, choosing to clean up the living room a bit now. “hm?” he hummed, about to walk into the kitchen before coming to a halt. “why wouldn’t we be cool?” he asked, lightly chuckling.

felix took a deep breath, frowning slightly as he walked closer to minho. his tone was low, clearly not wanting jisung to hear, “because i know that you’re in love with him, hyung.”

**Author's Note:**

> hi i rewrote this because the other work was written terribly. leave kudos and comments please i'll love you xoxo


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